20 Remarkable Photographs, Each Like a Still from a Movie (21 photos)

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Photos that resemble moments from a movie, like freeze frames with a broken narrative, with hints of varying degrees of clarity about what's happening, where the plot's development depends only on the viewer's imagination and interpretation. These photographs are incredibly close to the cinema we hold dear.

In Thought, 2019. Photographer Amanda Pratt

Since the Lumière brothers (Auguste and Louis Lumière) showed their first film on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris in 1895, cinema has held a special place in the public imagination.

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Charles Jourdan, 1977. Photographer Guy Bourdin

Photographers quickly absorbed his influences, and many major film movements—from German Expressionism to the French New Wave—had a lasting influence on the practice of still images. In photographic terminology, this is called cinematic style.

"The Killer Dress." From the Wallis advertising campaign, 1997. Photographer Bob Carlos Clark

A distinctive feature of cinema is action. Something is constantly happening on screen, even when nothing seems to be moving. Similarly, cinematic photographs are created using a variety of visual techniques designed to convey action and volume with the utmost effectiveness.

Carmen getting out of a taxi, 1959. Photographer Jerry Schatzberg

If you break down the frame into its notes, you can see that the illusion of reality is enhanced by the illusion of depth, emphasized by compositional techniques—multi-planes, leading lines, perspective distortions, and the proportions (width) of the frame. And a strong emotional effect, mysticism, and drama can be achieved with minimal resources—available lighting and shadows.

"Dreamland was an illusion." Photographer Omi Kim

Our selection features photographs by photographers working in various fields, but always exploring ideas of cinematic structure or direct allusions to cinema.

On public transportation, New York, 2019. Photographer CJ Méndez

They draw the viewer's gaze into their impossible reality, come to life in the imagination, and move toward an ending that depends entirely on you.